JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, has lauded the National Commercial Bank (NCB) Foundation for its role in assisting students to pursue higher education, through its scholarship programme.

 

“I am sure that since this project was started 14 years ago, the lives of thousands of young people have been changed for the better. Your intervention has opened windows of opportunities for many,” the Minister said.

 

He was speaking at the NCB CSEC Principles of Accounts (POA) and Principles of Business (POB) National Bursary Awards function, held on the grounds of the Ardenne High School in St. Andrew on February 1, where the bank electronically transferred $13 million in bursaries to schools.

 

Under its CSEC POA/POB National Bursary programme, the entity allows qualified secondary-level students to sit these two business subjects free of cost. This helps them to meet the minimum number of five subjects required for entry to a tertiary institution.

 

The bursary programme augments the Government’s subvention of four subjects – Mathematics, English, a Science subject and Information Technology. An additional subject is also offered to Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH) students and wards of the State.

 

Mr. Reid said the Government is appreciative of this support from a corporate entity in ensuring that more students are afforded tertiary-level education, lamenting that only 15 per cent of the current workforce has attained tertiary-level qualification.

 

He noted that another 15 per cent of employees have some technical education, while 70 per cent have not achieved the minimum acceptable qualifications for entry into tertiary-level programmes.

 

“We can all appreciate the importance of scholarships in helping our students to meet their goals of furthering their training and education,” Mr. Reid said.

 

The Minister said the support is significant because NCB “is giving us that opportunity to make this bold aspiration (to get all youth to stay in school up to Grade 13, and achieving at least a degree by age 30) far more realistic.”

 

Since the scholarship programme’s inception in 2003, the NCB Foundation has paid out $141 million to more than 100,000 students.

 

To qualify for the bursary, each school must have a sit rate of 90 per cent in each business subject covered by the bursary over two years.

 

In addition, the qualifying schools can only submit the names of the students who have attained at least 70 per cent in the subject areas.

 

A total of 4,270 students from 116 schools islandwide are benefiting from the programme this academic year.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (centre), joins students in thanking the National Commercial Bank (NCB) Foundation for providing $13 million in bursaries under its scholarship programme this academic year. The Foundation electronically transferred the funds to several high schools across the island during its Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Principles of Accounts (POA) and Principles of Business (POB) National Bursary Awards function, held at Ardenne High School in St. Andrew on February 1.

JIS:  Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the Government will re-establish its leadership and direction of local institutions that call upon the budget of the country.

 

“I do not intend to have the institutions of the country captured by people’s own personal belief of what they (think) should happen. Government must re-establish its authority to direct policy,” he said.

 

The Prime Minister was delivering a keynote address at the launch of an Absorptive Capacity Programme by the HEART Trust/NTA in partnership with the Joint Committee for Tertiary Education (JCTE), at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in New Kingston, today (February 2).

 

Mr. Holness noted that institutions carrying out programmes outside of the established national direction and needs of the country allow for great disparity, fragmentation and has little positive effect.

 

“Not only is the Government going to ensure that there is a concerted effort and unison in policy and that there is direction, but the Government must ensure that there is efficiency as well,” he said.

 

Mr. Holness hailed HEART Trust/NTA for continuing to be prolific in developing new programmes and launching new initiatives. He urged the institution to maintain a focused direction through an appropriate cadre of programmes, as it plays a critical role in addressing intergenerational poverty and fulfilling the Government’s prosperity agenda.

 

The Absorptive Capacity Programme is designed to expand the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme of the HEART Trust/NTA, with National Vocational Qualification of Jamaica (NVQJ) and Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) courses being offered in 17 JCTE member institutions across the island.

 

Recruitment for the programme has already started, with 2,200 students to be enrolled in the first year. It is anticipated that the programme capacity will increase incrementally in subsequent years to offer courses to some 10,000 persons by 2020.

 

The programme is intended to improve job prospects and opportunity for tertiary level training and provides labour market demand skills in areas such as Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Tourism and Hospitality, Agriculture, and Transportation and Logistics.

 

Meanwhile, Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, endorsed the initiative as being on the “right path” to put Jamaica amongst the best in the region in continued education.

 

“You have my full support and I am looking for us to work together to achieve the prosperity for Jamaica that we are all committed to,” he said.

 

The programme is being funded at a cost of $262 million, with $182 million provided by HEART Trust and the remaining $80 million by the JCTE.

 

Institutions to carry the programme include Excelsior Community College, International University of the Caribbean, Moneague College, Bethlehem Moravian College, Montego Bay Community College, Church Teachers’ College, Northern Caribbean University, Knox Community College, the College of Agriculture, Science and Education and the Caribbean Maritime Institute.

 

CAPTION: Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (left), is greeted by Chairman of the HEART Trust/NTA, Maxine P. Wilson (2nd right), ahead of the launch of an Absorptive Capacity Programme by the institution, in partnership with the Joint Committee for Tertiary Education (JCTE), on February 2 at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in Kingston. Looking on are Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (2nd left); and JCTE Chairman, Dr. Cecil Cornwall (right). The programme is designed to expand Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) courses in 17 JCTE member institutions.

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says the Ministry will be looking at establishing a special education framework that will better enable teachers to identify students with special needs.

 

“Each student is unique, they have different learning styles; so you have to have a framework of special education that also empowers your teacher to be able to diagnose our students,” he said.

 

The Minister was speaking in a recent interview on the Jamaica information Service (JIS) television programme Issues and Answers.

 

Mr. Reid explained that under this system, each student would have their own profile “almost treating them like a doctor would treat a patient.”

 

This structure, he said must now be the part of the new norm in education and will ensure that no child is left behind, and is able to achieve his or her full potential.

 

“It is a conversation now that I need to have with our policymakers within the education system and our teacher training institutions because how we have trained our teachers, many of them don’t have this kind of skill set to be able to diagnose effectively, and to deal with students with diverse needs,” he said.

 

The Minister recently attended the Education World Forum in London, where addressing students with special needs was one of the areas of focus.

 

In the meantime, Mr. Reid is encouraging persons to aspire for higher education, lamenting that very few students go beyond Grade 11.

 

“We want all our citizens to aspire to highest possible potential they have and we want tertiary education to be an aspiration for every student,” he said.

 

He pointed out that when the Government designed the Career Advancement Programme (CAP), it was “(a) signal to the entire community that you just don’t out school, you yearn for lifelong learning.”

 

“We want full certification for all our students…We take them through CAP, from Grade 11 to Grade 13 (up to) age 18, but they are not to stop there…they shouldn’t even feel comfortable until they have achieved their full potential in tertiary education,” he noted.

 

The Minister noted however that Jamaica is ahead of most other developing countries in terms of getting more students to pursue higher learning.

 

CAPTION: Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security, Senator the Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., with Guidance Counsellors at Hampton School in St. Elizabeth (from left) Kayon Whyne and Shellion Rowe, when he addressed the school’s Safety and Security Staff Sensitisation Workshop on February 1.

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says the Ministry will be looking at establishing a special education framework that will better enable teachers to identify students with special needs.

 

“Each student is unique, they have different learning styles; so you have to have a framework of special education that also empowers your teacher to be able to diagnose our students,” he said.

 

The Minister was speaking in a recent interview on the Jamaica information Service (JIS) television programme Issues and Answers.

 

Mr. Reid explained that under this system, each student would have their own profile “almost treating them like a doctor would treat a patient.”

 

This structure, he said must now be the part of the new norm in education and will ensure that no child is left behind, and is able to achieve his or her full potential.

 

“It is a conversation now that I need to have with our policymakers within the education system and our teacher training institutions because how we have trained our teachers, many of them don’t have this kind of skill set to be able to diagnose effectively, and to deal with students with diverse needs,” he said.

 

The Minister recently attended the Education World Forum in London, where addressing students with special needs was one of the areas of focus.

 

In the meantime, Mr. Reid is encouraging persons to aspire for higher education, lamenting that very few students go beyond Grade 11.

 

“We want all our citizens to aspire to highest possible potential they have and we want tertiary education to be an aspiration for every student,” he said.

 

He pointed out that when the Government designed the Career Advancement Programme (CAP), it was “(a) signal to the entire community that you just don’t out school, you yearn for lifelong learning.”

 

“We want full certification for all our students…We take them through CAP, from Grade 11 to Grade 13 (up to) age 18, but they are not to stop there…they shouldn’t even feel comfortable until they have achieved their full potential in tertiary education,” he noted.

 

The Minister noted however that Jamaica is ahead of most other developing countries in terms of getting more students to pursue higher learning.

 

CAPTION:  Senator the Honourable Ruel Reid, Minister of Education, Youth and Information 

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, will be making a submission to Cabinet to register Jamaica for the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

 

“It will measure and compare our excellence with the rest of the world,” Senator Reid said.

 

The PISA is a triennial international survey which aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students.

 

Senator Reid gave details during the 10th anniversary magis awards, the CXC edition 2016, held on the grounds of Campion College in St. Andrew on January 30.

 

In 2015, over half a million students, representing 28 million 15-year-olds in 72 countries and economies, took the internationally agreed two-hour test. Students were assessed in science, mathematics, reading, collaborative problem solving and financial literacy.

 

The Minister urged students to explore non-traditional areas of study, adding that studies suggest that traditional jobs will become extinct over time.

 

“Because technology is displacing current jobs, we have to retool and reorganise to get new jobs within the new industrial revolution,” he added.

 

In the meantime, he lauded the students for their hard work, which he said will continue in the long tradition of excellence at the institution. “Your focus and determination to succeed are commendable and need to be emulated,” he said.

 

Urging the students to remain focused, the Minister said their achievements would not have been possible without strong and forward looking leaders in the school, a team of dedicated and caring teachers, committed and supportive parents, as well as a helpful and strong past students’ association.

 

Principal, Campion College, Grace Baston, congratulated the students on their achievements.

 

The ceremony sought to recognise outstanding performances in the June 2016 CSEC and CAPE examinations. At the CSEC level, 150 students obtained grade one in seven subjects and more, while at the CAPE level, 39 students achieved grade one in four subjects and more.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (left), congratulates student of Campion College, Hasani Edwards, during the 10th anniversary magis awards – the CXC edition 2016 – held on the grounds of Campion College in St. Andrew on January 30. The ceremony sought to recognise outstanding performances in the June 2016 CSEC and CAPE examinations.

JIS: Three of the island’s training institutions will be merged to better cater to the needs of Jamaicans.

 

They are the HEART Trust/NTA, Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning (JFLL), and the National Youth Service (NYS).

 

Making the disclosure during yesterday (Feb. 1) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator Hon. Ruel Reid, said the merger falls in line with the Government’s Public Sector Rationalisation Programme and will result in greater synergy and efficiency.

 

“There is a lot of overlap, duplication with what the JFLL is doing and what is happening in some of the programmes in NYS and the mainstream HEART programmes. What we are doing is putting all of them under one umbrella and expand the scope,” he said.

 

He said with the merger will also allow for more resources will be allocated to other critical agencies within the Ministry.

 

“If you combine the budgets of the (NYS and JFFL) it is about $800 million. So what is happening is that HEART is absorbing that budget and the operations and this will allow for the resources to be otherwise utilised for other activities within the broader Ministry of Education operations,” he said.

 

Senator Reid said shared services will be incorporated and will result in less duplication in areas of human resource, finance and communication.

 

CAPTION: HEART Trust/NTA Leap Centre in downtown Kingston.

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information is moving to strengthen the operations of Nutrition Products Limited (NPL) in Kingston.

 

This is being done to expand its output and increase the number of early childhood, primary and high school students islandwide who are provided with meals, Portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, has said.

 

Nutrition Products Limited currently provides approximately 300,000 students in over 800 schools with breakfast and/or lunch each week.

 

They include youngsters on the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH), and others deemed vulnerable.

 

Speaking with journalists following a tour of NPL’s production facilities at its head office on Marcus Garvey Drive, yesterday (January 31), the Minister expressed satisfaction with NPL’s operations.

 

“The company is very efficient…and the products are wonderful. I am seeing a tremendous effort to focus on the use of local products. I think they are really focused on that clear policy directive,” he added.

 

Among the meals produced are: sandwiches, muffins, bread, rock cakes, cornmeal porridge, cream of wheat, flavoured milk and juices.

 

“My tour is to get a first-hand look at their capacity so that the NPL’s team and the Ministry can have a clear strategy about how we are going to deliver on our commitment. We want to see how we can strengthen the operations so that we can serve our children much better,” the Minister said.

 

Senator Reid said as part of the strategy to increase meal provisions, the Government increased the Ministry’s allocation for this engagement this year by $2.4 billion to $5.2 billion, noting that this “has been the largest movement within our budget.”

 

“So, the Government is really committed to reaching out to the poor and vulnerable (students in our schools),” the Minister assured.

 

An agency of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Nutrition Products Limited was established in 1973.

 

It produces and distributes nutritious snacks to schools from its plants in Kingston, St. Mary and Westmoreland.

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (right), and Special Advisor, Robert Miller (centre), examine bulla cakes manufactured by Nutrition Products Limited, during a tour of the entity on Marcus Garvey Drive in Kingston on January 31. At left is Chief Executive Officer of Nutrition Products, Orville Lewinson.-

JIS: A delegation from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris was in Jamaica recently to provide technical assistance to the Jamaica Tertiary Education Commission (J-TEC) in framing a strategic plan for the sector.

 

The delegation comprised Head of the Higher Education Section, Peter Wells; Programme Specialist in charge of Higher Education, Hassmik Tortian; and Programme Specialist in charge of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Higher Education Articulation, Katerina Ananiadou. Speaking with JIS News, Institutional Monitoring Officer at J-TEC, Novlet Plunkett, said that the visit, which was an initial scoping mission, was for the purpose of collecting data to inform the strategy.

 

“It is important that the tertiary sector responds to the changing nature of tertiary education. Changes, which include demographics, modalities for programme delivery and the various demands being made on the sector necessitate the development of a strategy,” she said.

 

During the six-day working visit, the team met with several key stakeholders including senior representatives from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information; the Ministry of Labour and Social Security; tertiary institutions such as the University of the West Indies (UWI); University of Technology (UTech); The Mico University College; and Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI); the Council of Community Colleges; Teachers Colleges of Jamaica; Joint Board of Teacher Education; the Jamaica Association of Private Tertiary Institutions; Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA); West Indies Group of University Teachers (WIGUT); and Jamaica Union of Tertiary Students.

 

The team also met with representatives of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Human Resource Management Association of Jamaica, and JAMPRO.

 

Mrs. Plunkett noted that tertiary education is a major contributor to national growth, so it was very important that the team interfaced with representatives of these organisations.

 

“Some of the outcomes we expect from this initiative are policy directives, which will be used to guide the development of the sector, an enhanced understanding of the role of all of the key players, clarity on the nature of tertiary institutions required to meet national demands and also clarity on the role of private versus public institutions,” she said

 

Mrs. Plunkett indicated that a report will be compiled and the details of this report will be made available to all stakeholders.

 

“We will be engaging the institutions and organisations that participated in the meetings to examine the report and to provide feedback,” she said.

 

J-TEC was established through the Education System Transformation Programme (ESTP) of the Ministry as the regulatory body for tertiary education in Jamaica.

 

Its primary mandate is to regulate, standardise, safeguard and transform Jamaica’s tertiary education sector.

 

J-TEC has a responsibility to maintain quality and ensure that the sector meets world-class standards, particularly through regulation, registration and development.

 

CAPTION: Commissioner of the Jamaica Tertiary Education Commission (J-TEC), Maxine Henry-Wilson (3rdleft); Institutional Monitoring Officer at J-TEC, Novlet Plunkett (right); and Programme Specialist for Education, UNESCO Jamaica, Claude Akpabie (3rd right), share a photo opportunity with members of the team from the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. From left are: Head of the Higher Education Section, Peter Wells; Programme Specialist in charge of TVET and Higher Education Articulation, Katerina Ananiadou; and Programme Specialist in charge of Higher Education, Hassmik Tortian.

JIS: A Male Empowerment Day was staged for boys attending St. Catherine High School, in Spanish Town yesterday (January 31), at which they were exposed to methods that can be used to solve various social issues.

 

The event, held under the theme: ‘Dare to be Positively Different’, featured a keynote presentation from State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, who emphasised the importance of respecting others, and shunning the culture of coarseness.

 

Mr. Green told the students that they must select carefully the types of association they wish to join, as “they can make or break you.”

 

“The friends that you keep can either help you to do well or to do poorly,” the State Minister added.

 

Meanwhile, Principal of the school, Marlon Campbell, appealed to the males to foster good relations with the female students, and not to forget the reason why they are in school.

 

“If we lack education, we will never move forward,” the Principal said, adding that the boys were sent to the school to “learn and be educated.”

 

There were also presentations by representatives from the Broadcasting Commission, Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA), and the Citizen Security and Justice Programme (CSJP).

 

The boys also participated in discussions on topics such as: ‘Managing Emotions and Sexual Urges’; ‘Discipline and Deportment’; ‘Implications of Early Sexual Activities’; ‘Managing Conflicts’; ‘Shortcuts to Success’; and ‘Taking the Right Stairs’.

 

CAPTION: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, addresses boys at a Male Empowerment Day, staged at St. Catherine High School, in Spanish Town yesterday (January 31).

 

JIS: The Ministry of Education is to provide additional financial and human resource support to the privately run Liberty Academy at Priory.

 

This was disclosed by portfolio Minister Ruel Reid following a tour of the facility’s Hope Road location in St Andrew yesterday.

 

There is currently an arrangement between the institution and the government, where some students with special needs are placed at the school each year, and whose fees are paid by the ministry. The salaries of two special education teachers are also paid by the ministry.

 

Reid said he is “very impressed” with the work of the Academy, which is one of the country’s “premier inclusive educational institutions…that ably caters for the diverse needs of our students.”

 

He said this new partnership, which will entail the provision of key personnel and an annual subvention, is aimed at giving the school further support to improve the quality of performance and output.

 

In the meantime, Executive Director and Founder of the Academy, Suzanne Williams, said she appreciates the visit and the Ministry’s commitment to further assist the school.

 

She noted that the institution has been working with the Ministry on an ongoing basis since 2007.

 

Williams further informed that the school has a mix of regularly performing and above average students, and also facilitates students with exceptional needs.

 

The institution offers an inclusive programme of education, catering to 260 students between three and 18 years of age. The school operates kindergarten, junior, high school, and exceptional needs departments.

 

A church-affiliated institution, Liberty Academy at Priory commenced operations in 1994. It functions as an outreach ministry of the Swallowfield Chapel.  

 

Accredited by the Ministry of Education in 2001, the institution is also a registered non-profit organisation which operates under the guidelines of the Jamaica Independent Schools’ Association.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Ruel Reid (right), in discussion with Special Education Coordinator, Liberty Academy at Priory ,Toni-Ann Millen (left), as he is taken on a tour of the institution’s  Special Education Department. In the background (at centre) is Executive Director and Founder of the Academy, Suzanne Williams. The Minister visited the school’s Hope Road location in St Andrew on January 31. (Photo: JIS)